AUXhttps://aux.avclub.comBook and Podcast reviews and news.enClue: Candlestick turns a board game into comic book brilliancehttps://aux.avclub.com/clue-candlestick-turns-a-board-game-into-comic-book-br-1834996317

Adaptations are tricky endeavors, pulling stories out of their original media and forcing them into new confines that can often jeopardize their integrity. The challenge is heightened when that source material is a game. Video game adaptations are common and rarely pan out well, with filmmakers simplifying long,…

]]>big issuescomicsclueclue candlestickidwdash shawSat, 25 May 2019 15:00:00 GMT1834996317X-23 and Honey Badger go on one last mission in this exclusive finale previewhttps://aux.avclub.com/x-23-and-honey-badger-go-on-one-last-mission-in-this-ex-1835011653

Marvel Comics’ entire X-line is getting cancelled to clean the slate for Jonathan Hickman’s upcoming takeover, and next week sees the final issue of X-23, a charming comic that did great work building on what Tom Taylor set up in his All-New Wolverine series. Writer Mariko Tamaki came onto the title exhibiting a deep…

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is one of the greatest, unlikeliest success stories in superhero comics, turning a joke character into the star of a clever, heartfelt, incredibly fun YA series that has become a gateway for readers of all ages. But nothing lasts forever, and after two volumes, 58 issues, one original…

I keep running into the same issue with my best friend of five years. (She’s also my maid of honor at my upcoming wedding.) We’re both empaths—most of my friends are—and we’re both in therapy working on how to cope with that. I have severe anxiety that impacts my physical health, so one of the empath-related issues…

John Waters might be America’s most honest celebrity. Waters talks about Hollywood and the film business with the candid attitude of someone who truly does not give a shit if his phone ever rings again, and Waters speaks with the same frankness on subjects ranging from “teen tragedy” novelty records to the racial…

Sex And The City premiered nearly 21 years ago, and people are still talking about it. But people aren’t talking about it the same way they talk about the other hit shows of the past two decades (“Aw, remember how good Breaking Badwas?”). No, when fans of Sex And The City talk about their favorite show, it’s like…

]]>podmassMon, 20 May 2019 17:00:00 GMT1834831929Take a trip through superhero history in this Dial H For Hero #3 exclusivehttps://aux.avclub.com/take-a-trip-through-superhero-history-in-this-dial-h-fo-1834892805

Dial H For Hero is one of the most flexible DC superhero concepts, giving creators the opportunity to explore different facets of the genre through a mysterious rotary phone that transforms people into costumed crusaders when they dial “H-E-R-O”. The property has gone through multiple iterations throughout the years,…

]]>wiki wormholeSun, 19 May 2019 15:00:00 GMT1834769871The McElroys play with superhero toys in this Journey Into Mystery exclusivehttps://aux.avclub.com/the-mcelroys-play-with-superhero-toys-in-this-journey-i-1834848280

War Of The Realms is a fantastic superhero crossover. The culmination of a story that has been building in Jason Aaron’s various Thor series over the past 6 years, War Of The Realms has massive stakes that justify bringing in characters from all across the Marvel Universe, and the tie-ins have been consistently…

]]>comic previewscomicsmarvel comicsjourney into mysterywar of the realmsthe mcelroy brothersandre lima araujochris ohalloranclayton cowlesFri, 17 May 2019 18:30:00 GMT1834848280Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. reunite in this Superman: Year One exclusivehttps://aux.avclub.com/frank-miller-and-john-romita-jr-reunite-in-this-superm-1834814755

DC’s Black Label was announced as an imprint where premier superhero creators would get the opportunity to tell out-of-continuity stories featuring the publisher’s biggest heroes. Of the first books announced, Superman: Year One easily had the most distinguished pedigree. Writer Frank Miller and artist John Romita Jr.…

Evan Dahm has shown time and again he’s a master of deliberate, emotional adventures. He has been posting webcomics for well over a decade, each of them a different journey through detailed and imaginative worlds. Rice Boy began in 2006 and was published just last year by Iron Circus Comics, while Vattu just passed…

Garbage human here. I’ve had herpes for about 15 years. The first five years, I was in a relationship with a guy who also had it. The last 10 years, I haven’t been in a serious relationship. I’ve been a (rare, drunk) one-night-stand type of gal, and I don’t usually tell the guy because, like, everyone has herpes. (I…

It’s easy for adults to forget the magic of art when they’re constantly being bombarded by media from every direction. But for kids discovering the world for the first time, a picture book or a cartoon or a song is extraordinary, something conjured from nothing that evokes an emotional response they cannot explain.…

With HBO’s eighth and final season of Game Of Thrones coming to a close this weekend, millions of dedicated, dare we say obsessed, viewers of the fantasy juggernaut will soon be left with nothing to do on their Sunday nights. But superfans and completists looking to read George R.R. Martin’s own version of events in…

For four podcast seasons now, journalist, comedian, and LGBTQ activist Gaby Dunn has been offering listeners an approachable guide to personal finance. Bad With Money is a breeze to listen to at a time when, frankly, looking over your finances is not. This week, Dunn talks to two men who were successful in defeating…

A good crime story keeps readers on their toes with twists that shift the direction of the story, and Vertigo’s American Carnage has consistently delivered in this respect. Written by Bryan Edward Hill with art by Leandro Fernández, colorist Dean White, and letterer Pat Brosseau, this series about a disgraced FBI…

]]>wiki wormholeSun, 12 May 2019 15:00:00 GMT1834598233Laura Dean, First Second, and the rise of queer romance in YA comicshttps://aux.avclub.com/laura-dean-first-second-and-the-rise-of-queer-romance-1834648367

High school student Freddy is a sexually active lesbian who has no hang-ups about her sexual orientation. She’s not worried about coming out and surrounds herself with other proud queer teens. She lives a charmed life with one big exception: She’s trapped in a toxic romance. The tortured lead of a new First Second…

]]>big issuescomicsgraphic novelsmariko tamakijillian tamakirosemary valero oconnellfirst secondlaura dean keeps breaking up with meSat, 11 May 2019 15:00:00 GMT1834648367Riri Williams and Miles Morales team up in this Ironheart #6 exclusivehttps://aux.avclub.com/riri-williams-and-miles-morales-team-up-in-this-ironhea-1834672099

Riri “Ironheart” Williams is carving out a niche for herself as a superhero specializing in missing person cases. The first arc of the Ironheart ongoing had Riri searching for an old friend from high school who had disappeared, and now she’s embarking on a solo mission to find her Champions teammate, Miles…

I’m a 43-year-old straight woman, and I spent the majority of my 30s celibate. At 40, I realized that while I wasn’t interested in dating, I was tired of my vibrator. I also realized that it was time to go forth and fuck with the body I had instead of waiting for the idealized body I was going to have someday. Over…

]]>savage lovedan savageWed, 8 May 2019 07:00:00 GMT1834588982Tragedy strikes an immigrant family in the bleak and beautiful The Unpassinghttps://aux.avclub.com/tragedy-strikes-an-immigrant-family-in-the-bleak-and-be-1834429958

There’s a hothouse isolation pervading Chia-Chia Lin’s debut novel that’s evocative of Jeffrey Eugenides’ much-lauded 1993 debut, The Virgin Suicides. But instead of a white family in a declining Detroit suburb, The Unpassing centers a Taiwanese immigrant family in the remote wilderness of Alaska, 20 miles outside…

Last week, Comedy Bang! Bang!, a longtime staple of every comedy nerd’s podcast feed, celebrated its tenth anniversary. That’s no small feat. Ten years ago, most people didn’t know what podcasts were, and those who did thought the entire medium was a flash-in-the-pan, foolhardy attempt to resurrect talk radio for a…

]]>podmassMon, 6 May 2019 17:00:00 GMT1834488280A new superhero team takes action in this Batman And The Outsiders #1 exclusivehttps://aux.avclub.com/a-new-superhero-team-takes-action-in-this-batman-and-th-1834552300

The Outsiders originally debuted as Batman’s team for missions that the Justice League wouldn’t get involved in. For the new Batman And The Outsiders series, DC returns to this idea as Batman brings a fresh group of heroes together. Batman family members Signal and Orphan are the new additions to a team that includes…

Theodor Seuss Geisel, or Dr. Seuss as he was best known, published 60-plus children’s books in his lifetime—the publication of posthumous titles show no stopping. And nearly all adhere to the same basic plot: the protagonist encounters a new world (a new street, new zoo, new alphabet, an egg or pair of siblings to…